joel_brown

Haven't tried pre-eq on the amp. That's kind'a what I need is to remove some of the bite and smooth it out. I'll keep trying and thanks for the tips.

I use my PODHD into the FX return of a pair of JCM900 amps and cabs. Been doing this setup for years. Been very happy with it. It wasn't perfect (never is) but one day a friend brought his modded Plexi over and plugged it into my cab. Wow, it was nice. I tried going back and tweaking the PODHD to get that tone and just can't quite do it. The biggest thing that stood out was the smoothness of tone the modded Plexi has. Also how tight the bass frequencies were. I haven't changed any equipment in years and it's about time for an upgrade. I'm sure the Helix will come closer but at that price point I'll just spend a little more and get the real thing. I haven't completely given up trying to get the PODHD sounding the way I want. I just don't know if it can do what I want it to do.

The PODHD was great when it came out but with modern high gain tube amps sounding much better I'm going back. I went with the PODHD because I didn't want to use pedals anymore. These new amps don't need pedals and sound really nice. I just can't take the digital harshness of the PODHD. If I gott'a spend money on a Helix, AXE, or Kemper, then I'll just go buy the real thing.

Keyword being "settle". My choice is do I want to "settle" for what I have or do something else. Higher end amp modelers are too expensive. For that money I can buy a high end amp. After hearing a modded Plexi or Friedman, it's hard to go back to the PODHD. I can't expect the PODHD to be as good but it needs to be closer than what it is. The digital harshness is getting old.

Here's a thought. How about a Model Pack for the PODHD with just one amp sound. A Friedman BE100. I would pay $500 bucks just for that one amp model. Provided I didn't have to spend 3 weeks tweaking it to get it sounding right.

I use the PODHD into the FX return of a pair of JCM900 amps/cabs. I use a 20ms delay between the L/R channels to give me stereo separation and place each JCM900 on opposite sides of the stage or hard pan in the P.A. when mic'd up. The PODHD basically gives me an ENGL preamp with a little delay/reverb. So I'm already lugging around too much stuff. One Friedman with a great tone would be an improvement in how much stuff I bring. I hate to give up the stereo effect though. It gives small/mid sized venues that concert hall feeling. Hmmm, I think I just talked myself into keeping what I have.

After hearing Friedman amps, especially the BE100 it's hard to resist going back. There are so many Marshall Plexi clones out there that sound so nice. Just plug in and sound great. No pedals, just guitar, amp, cab. I would never buy a Helix, Kemper, or AXE. For that money I'd buy a Friedman or some other Plexi clone. I'm happy with what I have but the temptation is strong. Friedman has this nice little combo that sounds incredible and is plenty loud and easy to carry. Help me resist...

Did you try a different USB port ?

The other topic covering Windows 8 should still be applicable.

Hey marvio, have you had any luck getting the tone you're looking for ?

I was in the exact same situation as you. I'm sure a lot of other people were too. The PODHD is very frustrating but it's in there. Couple things to check: 1) Make sure Input1 is set to guitar and Input2 is set to something else. 2) Set it to Studio/Direct out and whatever it's feeding isn't being over-driven. Start with a basic Amp, no effects. Such as the Brit J-800 or Angel F-Ball. Do the basics with tone controls, drive, presence until it's close. Now start using the D.E.P. parameters like Resonance, Thump, Low Cut, etc. Try different microphones and cabs. Also try different input impedances. I use 32k which cuts out some of the fizz for me. Now that it's hopefully close, throw an EQ into the chain and find the frequencies that need to be pulled out. You could try using the Global EQ for this just cause it's easier but remember the Global EQ effects every patch you have. Now you can try and put in different effects such as distortion, compression, delay, reverb, whatever. There is no set method or certain way things have to be done but this kind'a worked for me. And always ask questions. There's a lot of people here who went through what you're going through and will help you.

As Smashcraaft said "Just use the built in looper". That's what I do. Actually for me that's about the only useful thing the PODHD looper does.

I've had that guitar a long time. Always liked the way Jackson guitars played. Ibanez is nice too. Never was a Gibson person. They always felt awkward to me. Gibson sounds great, which is why I have a Gibson pickup in my Jackson.

I haven't been able to go straight into the P.A. yet. My tone is close but not good enough when I do that. I'm working on it though. That's the end goal.

I thought the RAT was supposed to sound snarling and nasaly ?

Simple Answer: PODHD will sound much better but will be difficult to learn how to use it and get the sounds you want. Firehawk will be easy to use but won't sound as good. It's the older POD technology. You make the choice... Everyone here will help you learn the PODHD. You will get so frustrated with it at first that you will want to return it. Then you'll fight through it and be happy you did. We've seen this a lot of times.

I use a Marshall JCM900 and 2x12 cab and I use the PODHD Studio Output into the FX Return. I use only the Pre version of the Angel amp mostly. Try some different Mic settings and see how it goes. It will get there, it's just not easy. What works for me or a particular amp or guitar may not work for you. But it has enough different settings to get what you need.

The HD EQs are a bit of a challenge ?????? They're friggin' horrible. But that's what will make it sound good. Or you could spend thousands of dollars for something that's only a little bit better but has nice EQs. Why does everything that's pretty damn good always have one thing that flat out sucks ?

Hey I like amp modeling and have a tube power amp that I plug my PODHD into. It sounds great. It sounds like a guitar through a cranked amp when I run it through a tube amp. It doesn't sound like a studio mic'd recording of a guitar through an amp. For the OP, bottom line is the PODHD takes a lot of time and patience. It's biggest downfall is it doesn't come out of the box with a bunch of great tones. It comes out of the box with a bunch of crap tones. I damn near gave up and almost returned mine - twice. Then, with the help of people here, I got it sounding friggin' awesome.

Under Cab Parameters try the Low Cut, Res Level, Thump, and Decay.

There's no hard fast rules about which setting to use, only suggestions that may help. I use Studio Direct into the FX return of a tube guitar amp and cab and it works fine for me. But that may not be what's best for you. It will take some time and tweaking.

On your PODHD, is Input 1 set to guitar and Input 2 set to Aux or Variax or anything else ? That's step 1 with getting these things to sound right. It's not easy getting a tone out of the PODHD. That's it's biggest drawback. But once you figure it out you'll be really happy. Be patient. I almost returned mine twice before getting it to sound right.

Any effects in the chain before the amp ?

This thread is almost a year old. Doubt the OP is still around. Probably bought a Boss GT-100 and wondering why nobody will jam with him.

Sounds like the OP had bad AD chips. You're issue sounds more like too hot of an input signal. Make sure you have Input 1 set to Guitar and Input 2 set to something else like Aux. Also any effects before the amp may need to be reduced in volume until you find the problem.